Fallout: The Vault Dweller
by Dan Mc
Summary: My story of Fallout based on both the game and my ideas.  Main quests consist of finding the water chip and stopping the Super Mutants.  M for strong-violence and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1: The Friend

Chapter 1: The Friend

Life in the vault, the Overseer says it's the best thing someone can have. We live in these metal-cased walls for all of our lives here, with no interaction with the outside world. Sure, the world went to hell after the bombs dropped, but that was 84 years ago. The outside world could be something again. I've tried my best to convince the Overseer that we should go outside, but he says no. He says that it's way too dangerous and we can't risk the vault's safety. I'm honestly not so sure about the outside world, but there are other inhabitants of the vault that push the idea. They use me as their spokesman, because I have a way with words. Still, the Overseer will never agree to open the vault.

I don't know if I would call it luck exactly, but it seems like the Overseer changed his mind today. He called twelve other men and myself to the control center to discuss something important. I examined the other men I was standing with there. They were all like me in their body build, and age it seemed. I didn't know any of them personally, but I could tell that we were all the healthiest men in the vault. The Overseer was obviously worried about something big by the way he was sweating so much. He got out of his chair and jumped down to the floor, something a man of his age shouldn't be doing. He addressed us quickly, speaking in a panic. "Alright you guys, we're in big trouble. Our water chip broke, and we don't have any spares. I'd say we have about 100 days before we run out of clean water for us all, assuming we ration it properly. We know the location of Vault 15 straight east of us. Someone has to go out there and get us another water chip, or we'll all die eventually. I picked the healthiest, youngest of you men that you'd have the best chances of survival out in the wasteland. I'm not going to pick which one of you goes, so you'll all draw straws." The Overseer held out thirteen straws for us to take. I reached for one first, for the best odds. After the next person pulled his, I saw that his was longer than mine. What luck. First draw and I get the shortest. Only two more men pulled straws before they all saw that I had the short one.

The Overseer looked over to me. "The rest of you are dismissed," he said in a very calm tone of voice. He spoke to me then in a sympathetic tone of voice. "I'm sorry Albert, looks like you're the one going out there. We need that water chip, you know that this is important. I've prepared everything you'll need at the vault door. I'll open it for you. God's speed, Albert. We're counting on you." I headed down to the vault's door, without saying a word back to the Overseer. Why's it have to be me? I guess I finally won my argument against the Overseer, but I didn't want it to be like this. I was scared, scared of what could be out there. There could be mutated insects the size of men or savages who would want nothing more than someone else to kill. Am I ready for this? I'm not exactly a fighter. How long will I survive before I die out there?

I looked at what the Overseer had for me at the vault door. There was a 10mm pistol, in mint condition, with less than 100 extra bullets and a holster. A combat knife in a holster laid next to it. There were three Vault 13 canteens filled with water. The other supplies were things like flares, a few tools, a Pip-boy 2000, and stimpaks should I get hurt out there. Well, assuming I'm not killed immediately. I mean, sure I'm one of the healthiest people of Vault 13, but radiation poisoning will kill anyone. It's time to stop worrying now though. I'm good with words, I'll convince myself there's nothing to fear. I attached the pistol holster to my right thigh, and the knife holster to my chest. The backpack with the other supplies was rather small, it went around my waist and rested on my lower back.

I stared at the great door of the vault. It was a giant cogwheel that looked like it would weigh more than 10,000 pounds. The Overseer must have known I was waiting for it to open. An alarm screeched into my ears and a red siren light turned on. I took a few steps back from the door. A device swooped down from the ceiling and landed on the door. The device turned something within the door, and the door let out a sound. The device then pulled the door back, giving out the loudest sound of metal scrapping I'd ever heard in my life. The great cogwheel was then rolled to the right on a track, opening Vault 13 for the first time in 84 years. I didn't hesitate to leave. I rushed straight out the door without looking back. I was not afraid.

As I walked through the cave outside the vault's door, I heard the metal giant close again. I saw a light coming from one of the tunnels in the cave, and figured that must be the way out. I heard this thing called the sun gives light 100 percent of the time in daylight, whatever that is. The light became greater and greater as I approached the entrance of the cave. I almost couldn't see if I was out of the cave or not now, my eyes were blinded that much. I felt that I was walking on something different than the rocky ground of the cave. This kind of ground moved as I stepped on it each time. I kneeled down with my hand above my eyes to block the light to look at this ground. The ground was apparently millions and millions of tiny particles with a tan color. It would be impossible to pick up a single piece of it, they were that small. I took a knee as I waited for my eyes to adjust to the light out here.

It must have been a good five minutes before my eyes could stay open for more than three seconds. I stood up straight and looked out at the landscape. It was a real shame. The entire land was dead, with an absence of anything green. "The power of man's destruction upon himself," I whispered to myself. Time to head over to Vault 15 now. I reached into my backpack and whipped out my Pip-boy 2000. I've never used one before. This personal information processor can show me where I'm going, which is good because I'd be lost without it. I saw on it's map that I was in front of Vault 13. Vault 15 was straight east, but it would take weeks to get there. It was December 5, 2162 according to my Pip-boy. Better start walking.

Days passed as I walked tirelessly to the east. Sleeping on this ground was the very definition of uncomfortable. At least none of the particles got into my jumpsuit. It was December 14th now, and I still haven't come across any living creature yet. It makes me wonder if anyone, or anything, is alive out here. I set myself against a rocky cliff that was only about ten feet tall for the night. As I was trying to fall asleep, I heard something above me on top of the rock. I was scared at first, and yanked my knife out of it's holster hard. I calmed myself, and slowly stood up facing the rock wall. I began to climb the rock, as quietly as I could. I peaked my eyes over the top of the ledge to really frighten myself afterwards. I spotted a creature of some kind. It was too dark to tell everything about it, but I saw it had a great, long tail with something on the end of it. It must have heard me, and turned it's body towards me.

I panicked and dropped down from the ledge, backing away from the cliff. The creature pursued me though, it jumped right down after me. It made a smooth landing on it's eight legs. It had it's hands out in front of it, chasing me with them. It's hands resembled scissors, and looked as if they could cut me in half. I should have pulled out my pistol, but instead froze in panic. It seemed like someone else was smarter than me, because four bullets found their way into the head of the creature. A man now stood at the top of the cliff, twirling his pistol casually. He called out to me, "I'd jump down there, but one of those bastards got a piece of my leg earlier. Why don't you come up here?" Well, it's the least I could do for the man that just saved me.

I climbed back up the cliff to greet the man that saved me. He had his hand ready to help pull me up as I got to the top. After he pulled me up, I saw the wound on his left leg he said he had. It wasn't too bad a cut, I'd probably be able to help him with it. "Thanks for saving me from whatever that was, friend. My name's Albert." I stopped speaking there. The man pushed his long, brown bangs out of the way of his face.

"I'm Ian, I was left behind by my caravan because I was walking to slow from my wound. Last time I work for them. I hope some radscorpions get them all. They probably did, after all, they're now missing their best guard." He grabbed his leg in pain. I helped him carefully to the ground.

"I could treat that wound for you. Stay still while I use a stimpak on it." I pulled a stimpak out from my backpack and inserted the needle into Ian's leg. "Alright, should be good as new by the morning." I thought that having Ian stick around would really help me in the long run. How could I persuade him to hang around with me? I could at least have him stay around until morning.

"Thanks, bud. I guess we're even now," Ian said. I sat down on the cliff side next to Ian now.

Ian looked at my back. He saw the big yellow '13' on the back of my jumpsuit. He asked me after looking at it, "Vault 13, eh? Where's that one? I don't remember ever hearing about that one. Only ones I know of around here are Vault 15 and what was Vault 12." The Overseer told me not to tell anyone where the vault was, for the vault's safety. Oh, but Ian's not going to go in and kill everybody or anything like that. He could never open the door anyway. I'll tell him, but I'll be vague about it.

"Oh, it's somewhere east of here. I've been walking out here for over a week." Ian must have been more curious about what I was doing out of the vault.

"So, why'd you leave? You finally realize the war's over?" I laughed with him before giving an answer.

"Ha, no. I was sent out to find us a new water chip to replace the one that broke. Do you know where any water chips are?" Ian shook his head.

"Sorry bud, never heard of one. I guess that's just Vault-Tec stuff. Only place to look would be another vault. Maybe you can ask someone in Shady Sands, they came from Vault 15." That picked up my attention. I turned my head.

"Shady Sands? What's that?"

"It's probably the most promising settlement in the wastes. It's very close by, it's where my caravan was heading. I can take you there in the morning if you'd like."

It seems like I can have Ian stick around for awhile now. I took him up on his offer, "Sure, that'd be great. Do they have food there? I'm already running low on food and water." Ian smiled and stood up from the cliff.

"Thanks for reminding me," he said as he walked away from the cliff. He took about ten steps before he stopped and picked something up. He returned with a bag in his hand. "I stole a good amount of food and water from the caravan I was guarding before they ditched me. To hell with Crimson Caravan. Help yourself to anything." Ian carefully went down the rock and sat where I was earlier, and I followed him. Well, the first person I found out here is a friendly person who saved my life. Not bad so far.


	2. Chapter 2: The Young Girl

Chapter 2: The Young Girl

It was morning now, on December 15th. The sun woke me, with it's feeling of warmth on my face. I reached into Ian's bag to get a sip of water. I didn't look into the bag, rather I felt around in it until I could feel a bottle. My hand slid on a smooth bottle, and took the bottle out. I looked at the bottle then. It was made of glass, and filled only to an inch below the neck. The top had something that was plugged in the hole. I guess it was a lid of sorts. I yanked the object out of the hole, which made a popping sound. The sound woke Ian, and he turned to me. I was really thirsty, so I lifted the bottle straight up and drank. Only problem was, this was not water I was drinking, but instead something hard to drink. It burned my throat and nostrils, then I coughed violently. I put the object back into the hole of the bottle and angrily threw it back into Ian's bag.

Ian had a good laugh as he rose to his feet and stretched. "Don't you think it's a little early to be hitting the bottle, Al?" I had no idea what he was talking about. I finished coughing and cleared my throat.

"I wanted water, what the hell was that?" Ian reached into his bag.

"That was booze, it's actually good stuff. But not if you're thirsty for water. Here." Ian handed me a different bottle. I hope there are no surprises this time. I carefully lifted the bottle, and was satisfied with it's contents. I could still feel the taste of the booze though.

I got up from the ground, and started dusting myself off. Ian began to dust off his leather jacket. His jacket was a strange one, I wasn't sure if it was supposed to look the way it did or not. It was missing it's right sleeve, which made it look odd with his finger-less gloves on his hands. The color of the jacket was so faded it looked like he left it out since before the war. Ian's hair covered the neck-area and the top of the shoulders on it. His hair went down past his shoulders and had curliness to it. After he cleaned out his hair, he lifted his bag over his shoulder. "Ready to go to Shady Sands?" he asked. I kicked my boots on the cliff side and answered.

"Yeah, lets go." Ian put his hand out, signaling which way to start walking.

It took less than an hour to arrive at Shady Sands. The settlement was protected by solid walls that surrounded it's entire area. There was a single opening in the walls, that was guarded by two men, one on each side of the frame. Ian went ahead of me and walked up to one of the guards. It seemed like Ian knew the man well. "Hey man, a friend of mine here wants to know something about Vault 15," Ian said, then signaling me to ask my question. I stepped forward and kept my head up high.

"Yes, would you know whether or not if Vault 15 would still have it's water chip?" The guard shrugged his shoulders before specking.

"I don't know, I'm just a guard. Maybe someone else in town can help you."

"Thank you for your time," I said before walking into the town. Ian said something quick to the guard and followed me into town.

Shady Sands was beautiful compared to what I've seen walking out in the wastes. There were farms with green crops growing in great abundance. A well was located in the center of town, with children around it getting what looked like fresh water to drink. There was a young woman helping the children, dressed better than the other citizens of the town. She might know about Vault 15. Ian noticed me looking at the woman, and spoke to me. "That's Tandi, she's the town leader's daughter. Very intelligent. She's pretty sweet too, but I've got someone waiting for me back home." Intelligent? Then she must be able to help in some way. I decided to go up to her and ask her for help.

I approached Tandi with my hand raised level with my head. She noticed me, and gave me a polite bow. "Yes traveler, can I help you? And hi, Ian."

"Yes, I'm looking for a water chip to save my vault, and I was wondering if you would know if Vault 15 would still have it's water chip?" Tandi helped the last child get water from the well and walked closer to me.

"Of course, they never took it with them. The inhabitants only took the G.E.C.K they were given with them. Besides, a water chip would be useless out here. Can I take you there, or do you know where it is? I know the safest way to get there, and my father never lets me leave town." I turned to Ian, and he didn't say anything. I looked back at Tandi.

"Um, sure, but I don't want to get in any trouble with your father…"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm going to go ask him now. You'll need rope in the vault, because there's no power in there for the elevators. You're going to need to climb the shaft, so I suggest you get some rope while I go ask my father, okay? I'll meet you back here," Tandi said before she ran off.

I turned to Ian and looked around. "Got any rope?" I asked him. Ian scratched his head.

"No, but I'm sure there's a trader around here somewhere with some. Lets have a look." He walked back to the gate of the town, and I followed him. He spotted a trader with some rope. Before we went up to him, I stopped Ian.

"What are we going to give him for it?" I asked Ian.

"Some of the stuff I stole, I guess. Or if it's cheap enough, caps," Ian said before going up to the trader. Ian pointed the rope.

"How much for the rope?" he asked the trader.

"How about 50 caps?" the trader asked back. Ian reached into his bag. He pulled out a dusty, old box and a bottle of booze. He presented them to the trader. "Alright, that plus 10 caps would be a good trade," the trader said now. Ian threw 10 bottle caps to the trader. The trader handed Ian the rope. I stared confused at Ian as we walked back to the well.

"Bottle caps? What good are they?" I questioned Ian.

"Otherwise known as Hubbucks, that's what everyone here in the core region of southern California uses as currency." We continued walking back to the well.

Tandi stood at the well with her hands on her chest. I could see excitement in her eyes. She shouted to us, "My father said I can take you there! Isn't that great! Come on, lets go!" She rushed past us towards the gate. I smiled at Ian over seeing her reaction to being able to take us to Vault 15. Ian smiled back.

"That's Tandi for you." We picked up the pace so we could keep up with Tandi. Tandi skipped passed the gate guard.

"I'll be back!" she said happily. Ian nodded to the guard as we passed him. She kept the same speed outside of town, but we kept up with her.

The way to Vault 15 was safe, as Tandi said it would be. She asked a question when I was walking next to her. "So, what's your name, vault dweller? Why are you the one getting the chip of all the people in your vault?"

"My name's Albert. The Overseer of the vault made the healthiest men draw straws. Of course my luck would make me draw the shortest. I don't think I'm the best choice for the job though. I'd be dead already if it weren't for Ian." Tandi looked back at Ian.

"Ian's the best caravan guard, he's a great guy. Oh, we're here already. See?" Tandi pointed at a cave in front of us. I bowed to her.

"Well thank you very much for taking us out here, Tandi." Tandi smiled at me and bowed back.

"You're welcome, Albert. Come back to Shady Sands and let me know you found the water chip. Bye." She skipped her way back down the trail, out of sight.

Ian and I headed into the cave to find the entrance to the vault. "You talk a little too well, Al. Does everyone in your vault talk like that?" Ian asked me. I continued walking.

"No, it was just my field of work back in the vault. My job is difficult to explain properly, but I was like a pre-War lawyer. I would speak for a person or group of people to another party as a spokesperson or negotiator. The last people I worked for were a bunch of rebels in the vault, who wanted me to convince the Overseer to open the door and go out into the world. I wonder how the rebels are doing now that I've left." We spotted the entrance to Vault 15. The vault door was open, giving me a bit of a scare that there could be anything in there. We headed on into the vault. I couldn't see after walking 15 feet into the vault, there was no power and thus no lights. I guess this is why the Overseer gave me flares. I probably should have had one ready before walking into the dark. Luckily, Ian gave a bit of light with a lighter he pulled out. I could see where I put my flares and lit one up. I knew that these things didn't last forever, so I handed one to Ian for when after this one goes out. We proceeded further into Vault 15 with caution.

Vault 15 quickly turned out to be a disappointment. When walking down the hallway to the elevator, I discovered that the elevator was blocked by rubble that went from the floor to the ceiling. Ian got my attention quietly by pulling on my arm. "I think there's something in here," he whispered into my ear. I tried to listen to hear if there was anything. I could hear breathing, heavy breathing. No human could sound like that. I could tell it was from down another hallway we were in front of.

"Get that next flare ready," I whispered back to Ian. Ian held the flare ready to ignite it. I took a deep breath, then I threw my flare down the hallway. Right after I threw my flare, Ian lit his flare.

We both looked down the hallway to see what was breathing so loudly. I couldn't see much of anything but something sticking out of a doorway down the hall. Ian pulled my arm hard and ran back to the vault's entrance. I did as he did, for I had no idea what it was that we saw. After we were out of the vault and in the sun again, Ian threw his flare back at the vault. "What was it? Why'd you run like that?" I asked. Ian caught his breath first.

"That my friend, is the worst thing since the A-bomb: a deathclaw. What we saw was just the end of it's tail. If a deathclaw's eyes sees you, you're dead. They have claws as long as your arm. It can cut through you like a knife through paper. Man that was close, we're lucky it didn't hear us."

So we were lucky to escape the deathclaw, but my vault still needs a water chip. Ian mentioned last night that he heard of other vaults in the area. "Ian, you said last night that you heard of Vault 15 and Vault 12. Do you know where Vault 12 is?" Ian shook his head.

"I have no idea. I heard it was somewhere near where Necropolis is, but no one wants to go wandering into the city of the dead, not even me." Damn, I might lose Ian now. I came up with something. I cleared my throat and turned to Ian.

"Do you know where any other towns are around here besides Shady Sands? Maybe we can find out more about other vaults in the area." Ian wiped his face with his hand and pushed his hair out of his face.

"Yeah, lets see: there's the Hub, and Junktown is along the way to the Hub. Crimson Caravan Company is in the Hub, and they would run caravans from there up to Shady Sands and back. They even went south of the Hub to the Boneyard occasionally. I could take you to Junktown then the Hub, but I don't know where Boneyard is." What a relief, Ian's volunteering to take me to the Hub and Junktown.

"You'd do that? Thank you very much, Ian." Ian swatted his hand in the air.

"I'm out of a job now, I'll gladly help you with yours. Come on, lets go to Junktown. It's about a little over a weeks walk, but there's no danger in the route I take. We'll head back to Shady Sands first though. I only know how to get to Junktown from there. And Tandi wanted to see you again." Ian led the way back to Shady Sands. Ian is one of the nicest people I've met, out here and back in the vault. But I'd quickly learn soon that not everyone out here is as friendly as Ian.


	3. Chapter 3: The DeathHand

Chapter 3: The Death-Hand

We took the same way back to Shady Sands that Tandi took us out to Vault 15. Again, there was no danger on the way. When we got to the gate to Shady Sands, the gate guard approached Ian. With concern, he asked, "Ian, where's Tandi?" Ian looked over at me. I stepped forward towards the guard.

"She said she was heading back here about an hour ago. Why wouldn't she be back?" The guard got aggressive towards me.

"She's lost out there? You saw her last, get her back here! Go!" The guard waved his gun up at me. I backed away slowly from him, Ian followed. I led the way back to where we just came from.

Ian shook his head as we walked. I could tell he was bothered by something. "You have any idea where she could've gone?" I asked Ian.

"She'd never go wandering off into danger. There's one thing I can think of now: Garl," Ian answered quickly. I stopped walking and stopped Ian.

"Garl? What's that?" Ian looked up at me.

"He's some dumb-ass who thinks he can take over the world with his crummy raiders. I think he might have kidnapped Tandi. He has slaves and is always looking for more. His camp is close to Shady Sands, closer to Vault 15 though. That has to be what happened." Ian turned his head for a moment. "If Garl has Tandi, we must save her. Shady Sands is my second home, and Tandi is the future of Shady Sands. If you do this with me, I would walk into Necropolis with you. What do you say?" I pulled my pistol out of it's holster.

"Lets go get Tandi," I said with confidence, "Lead the way." Ian walked in front of me now.

Ian led me to the southeast of Shady Sands. I noticed a pole sticking out of the ground. On top of the pole was a skull. It was probably a warning marker to scare people off. I noticed a little further was a flag. The flag was gray with a skull on it. The skull had bright red eyes with a normal mustache and a helmet. Beneath the skull was the word 'Khans.' Ian stopped me once he spotted the flag. "What's the plan?" I asked him. Ian shook his head.

"I don't really have one. Garl has about only ten raiders. We can't just go in with an attack. Hmm." I put my pistol back in it's holster.

"Maybe I can use my profession to negotiate with Garl. At least then we could take some of them off-guard if it fails." Ian holstered his pistol.

"Alright, but don't get close to Garl; he's a master of unarmed combat. And he has this .223 caliber pistol that could shoot a hole through both of us. I'd love to have it once we kill him." I smiled at Ian. I motioned my head in the way of the raiders' camp.

"Lets go get it," I said smugly. I led the way into the Khans' camp.

As we walked into the camp, I noticed there was a man standing on the western ridge in the distance. His eyes glowed red, and he stood casually with his large rifle resting on his shoulder. The breeze made his trench coat sway to the south. He was too far away to see anything else about him. A raider spotted me coming and raised his rifle. I put my hands in the air and spoke clearly. "I come peacefully to negotiate the release of Tandi. I'd like to speak to Garl." The raider whistled to another raider. The two raiders pointed their rifles at us and pointed to the one building that was in the camp. I walked slowly into the building. I noticed that most of the raiders were outside. This will make things easier for us.

The building was in poor shape, with pieces of the ceiling absent letting the sun shine right in. There were a total of four raiders in the building, including the two that escorted us in. One raider was guarding a door in the building, and the other stood at a table. The one at the table turned to us as we entered. He loosened his joints, rotating his arms and shoulders. His armor looked bulky, but moved easily as he rotated his arms. It was constructed out of old tires from cars before the War. "What's this?" he asked one of the raiders. I lowered my hands and spoke firmly to the raider who had to be Garl.

"My name is Albert, I represent Shady Sands to negotiate the release of Tandi. What would you want that would let her go in return?" Garl started touching his knuckles.

"How about this: you beat me hand-to-hand and I let her go. I beat you, she's mine and your caravan guard-friend is also mine. Deal? I should tell you, I'm called Garl the Death-Hand for a reason." I put my hand out and shook Garl's hand.

"Deal. But lets get our guns away from us, so that no one even thinks of cheating." I threw my 10mm pistol aside on the floor. One of the raiders took Ian's pistol from him. Garl threw his .223 pistol by my pistol and landed with a heavy thud. The pistol was a work of art, it had to be crafted out of a .223 rifle. It's edges were smoothed down to perfection, where the barrel and stock once were before it was changed into a pistol. Ian's eyes were glued to the pistol. I nodded to Ian, and he understood me.

Garl took out a pair of brass knuckles. They were beat to hell, meaning that they have seen a lot of use. The thought of what Garl would do to me with the brass knuckles made me shiver. He placed the brass knuckles on the table, as they would be an unfair advantage he clearly didn't need to beat the life out of me. He stretched his neck and cracked his knuckles. I stood still, waiting for him to say when to start. "You go first," Garl said confidently. I didn't like my plan, I'll get hurt bad from this. My first punch I aimed at Garl's head. I missed terribly, and Garl countered my punch with a swift punch to my lower-left side. I blindly swung at my left, missing Garl again. Garl came forward with an uppercut to my chin. It made my jaw feel like it was just broken into my head. I finally landed a punch on Garl, except it was on his armor. He laughed, then sent his fist across my right cheek.

I had already felt enough pain to want to forfeit. I had one thing to do for my plan to work that still needed to be done. Garl became relentless with punches on me. He was pounding my body like he was tenderizing meat. The only way I was able to stop him for a moment was when I vomited blood. He stepped back to avoid the blood. It was enough time for me to stand where I needed to. I positioned myself where I needed to stand, and Garl saw I was finished vomiting. Garl crow-hopped at me and struck a straight punch right below my left eye. It felt like my eye socket shattered, but my eye was still in place. The punch knocked me back into Ian, which caused him to fall onto the floor.

I didn't get up off the floor. My bones were telling me not to move anytime soon. The thought of the rewards I'd be getting changed the mind of my aching body. The sight of my bones' destroyer though changed their mind again. Garl stood over me with his arms crossed. "I think we have a winner," he said arrogantly, looking down at me, "You'll leave now, and never come back again. Bring me his friend now." He waved his hand impatiently at one of the raiders. The raider pushed Ian forcefully forward at Garl with the back of his rifle.

"I don't ever need to come back to this graveyard," I said slyly. I stood up and picked up my 10mm pistol, leaving the floor now empty. I smiled at Garl, and uneasiness ravaged his face.

"What does that mean!" he yelled at me. Garl was so focused on me, that he didn't notice what Ian had in his hand next to him.

"I think Ian holds that answer for you." I motioned my eyes toward Ian, and Garl's frightened eyes went to Ian. The last thing Garl saw was his .223 pistol pointed at his miserable face, and the last thing he heard was a loud 'bang!' The thud of Garl's body hitting the table made the other three raiders shiver in fear. I stood still as I heard the .223 pistol roar three more times. There was one almost-synchronized sound of bodies hitting the red-stained rugs.

It was no time to rest yet, there were seven more raiders outside ready to kill us. I could hear the raiders yelling to each other, with a sense of panic in their voices. I heard one comment perfectly that raised questions within myself. "I'm hit!" was yelled loudly. The sound of raiders firing their guns frantically in fear was relieving. There was a hole in one of the corners of the room that shined light in. Ian pushed a box to the wall. Despite Ian's height, it was enough for him to get his curious eyes level with the hole.

"They're getting massacred! Who else could be helping us?" Ian said surprised. I immediately knew who it had to be, given the fact that gun shots could be heard from the west. It was the man who stood on the western ridge with the large rifle, he must be sniping the raiders outside. Who is he though, and why is he helping us?

The last gun shot I heard howled from the west. Ian saw that all the raiders outside were dead. "I don't believe it," Ian calmly said to me, "That ranger killed them all." Ranger? Did Ian know the man?

"The man on the ridge is a ranger? What does that mean?" Ian jumped down off of the box. He pushed his hair back.

"I don't know much about them, I just know what they look like. But yeah, that guy was a ranger. Only other thing I know is that they come from the east, from Nevada. I don't know why he'd be out here, especially killing small-time raiders." I was very curious about this ranger, but I was more interested about Tandi's safety. I walked over to the door that the one raider was guarding when we entered. It was in poor shape, the wood was rotten. All I needed to do is kick it and it flew off it's hinges. The room was dark, the only light came from the one hole in the ceiling. I saw a few people in the darkness.

"Tandi?" I called out with concern. A figure rushed at me from the darkness. It was Tandi, and she put her arms around me when she collided into me. Honestly, she was hurting my destroyed body. I didn't care though. I wrapped my arms around her warm body.

"Albert! I only dreamed that you'd save me!" Tandi cried. We held each other a little while longer.

Our peace was interrupted quickly. The sound of wood flying off the hinges outside the room startled me. I saw that Ian was right behind me, and wondered who was coming in. I let go of Tandi, but she refused to give me up. Her grip on me was tighter than my jumpsuit. "It's the ranger," Ian said in relief. After that relieving news, I placed my arms around Tandi again. I walked backwards out of the room with Tandi in my arms. There the ranger stood before us. His very appearance was intimidating. His chest stuck out in his dusty, black leather armor. His head was completely covered, by both a helmet and gas mask. The eyes on the gas mask were still lit up bright red like the fire alarm-lights back in the vault. He propped his rifle up against the wall. He adjusted his tight-fit gloves before reaching his right hand up next to his head. He touched a small device that was on where his temple would be. The red eyes faded then. He just stood still after that. The rest of us stood still in fear, but I doubt the ranger was afraid of us.

I was the one who eased the silence. Tandi was still buried in my arms. I spoke timidly, "Thank you for helping us, sir…but why did you help us?" The ranger pushed the right-hand flap of his sand-colored trench coat back. He whipped out a revolver that was holstered on his belt.

"I'm a Desert Ranger. It's my job to uphold peace against all tyrants. The death of these raiders is an honorable achievement, and removes evil from the area," his masked voice spoke proudly. He held his revolver up, and still enough for me to read the inscription on it. On one side of the barrel, 'For Honorable Service,' was engraved into it. On the other side of the barrel, 'Against All Tyrants,' was on it. A million questions were raised in my head about who these Desert Rangers are.

"That's a nice gun you've got there, and your rifle. You're really well-equipped, are all rangers like that?" The ranger reached into his trench coat again. He holstered his revolver, and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun out of his coat. Is this guy an armory for god's sake?

"No, we're all different in what we do. I follow the ways my grandfather taught my father, who taught me. Desert Rangers usually act alone, we are highly trained in self-survival," the ranger's voice shifted, "Enough about me now, I want to know about you and why you're doing something noble like this, vault dweller?"

The ranger's question frightened me, if nothing else about him did. I answered with fear in my voice, "I…I came here to rescue the girl I'm holding." The ranger put his shotgun away and crossed his arms. He eased his back onto the wall.

"And why aren't you in your vault?" the ranger asked impatiently, "It's a dangerous world out here if you can't tell."

"My vault's water chip broke and we need a replacement or we'll all die. I was the one who was sent out to find one, because I have one of the best chances for survival out of everyone else in the vault." The ranger laughed, which sounded like coughing through his gas mask.

"You vault dwellers don't know much about the world then. I doubt you'll survive much longer," the ranger's voice turned more friendly, "But what you did here is a noble thing, vault dweller. I will remember this if I see you again, and know that you are a friend." The ranger slowly hoisted his rifle up to his shoulder, it must have been heavy. He gave no good-bye, and walked with his eyes on the door.

"Wait, friend! Before you go, what's your name? My name's Albert, and you will see me again. Alive," I said confidently to him. The ranger stopped. He didn't turn to me at all, not even his head.

"I'm Tycho, and you should remember that over-confidence is one of the primary causes of death in the wasteland," he said with sympathy before continuing out the door.

It's nice to know that Tycho is a friend, but he doesn't think I can survive out here. It made me less confident of my survival, but he does have a point. My attention went back to Tandi, who still wouldn't let go of me. "The raiders are all dead, Tandi, it's alright," I said with a tone of comfort in my voice. She still held me like I was the only thing keeping her safe. It still hurt my bones and organs. Ian was making a lot of noise with what he was doing. I was appalled at what Ian was doing. "Umm, Ian, you're stealing from the dead," I said concerned. Ian continued and acted causally.

"I know I am. How do you think people survive out here in the wasteland? People scavenge and take from the dead all the time. I don't ever steal from the living," Ian said calmly. I guess Ian was right. I could use some better equipment out here after all. Ian took everything good from each of the raider corpses in the room.

I forgot that there were some more slaves in the other room. "Ian, get the slaves to come out and lets head back to Shady Sands." Ian went into the other room quickly. I spoke down at Tandi now with a caring voice, "I'm taking you home now, okay Tandi?" Her grip on me didn't change. There was only one way to get her back to Shady Sands then. I lowered my left arm down around her legs and leaned her to the right. I lifted her up in my arms, and carried her in front of me. Her arms were still wrapped around me, so I guess she still felt safe. I kept her safe, and Ian escorted the other former-slave girls. We took them away from this graveyard, to the safety of Shady Sands.


	4. Chapter 4: The Doctor

Chapter 4: The Doctor

My arms were ready to fall off. Tandi wasn't fat, it's just Garl really kicked my ass. Seeing the outer walls of Shady Sands brought me comfort. I bet it would do the same to Tandi, but her eyes were closed as she rested her head on my shoulder. Ian was having trouble carrying all the loot he took from the raiders and keeping the two former-slave girls walking. I couldn't tell if the gate guard was happy to see me or not, but I could at least tell he was happy to see I had Tandi. "So, what happened?" the guard asked me anxiously. My jaw felt like it was going to fall off. I continued into the town without answering the guard. Ian stopped to talk to the guard for me though.

"The raiders. They're all dead now," Ian said before he continued following me.

I could guess that the largest building in the town must have been her home, her being the town leader's daughter. The aroma of spices soothed my nostrils as soon as I entered the door. It made me hungry, but then reminded me that I was just pounded into a tender piece of meat. A kooky-looking man rushed over to me. He looked at me in awe. "Thank you a million times, vault dweller! You have done a great kindness to this town, and to myself! You are a true hero! You are always welcome here in Shady Sands, vault dweller!" the man rambled on with gratitude. I positioned Tandi upright, and she finally let go of me. My skeleton now felt like it was about to fall apart. I fell right down on my knees.

"Albert, you should stay here for awhile. You look really hurt," Tandi sympathized me. I have to get a water chip, I can't waste time because I'm hurt. The thought of walking hurt my body more. I guess I could spare a night here.

"That'd be lovely, Tandi," I forced myself to say through the pain.

Tandi and her father helped me to my feet. It hurt me more and more as they assisted me to a bed. At least they put me down gently without causing too much pain. Tandi's father left Tandi and me alone. Tandi began to slowly stroke her hand on my head. "I'm sorry you're hurt Albert, but thank you for saving me," Tandi said with disappointment. I put my eyes to hers.

"Why are you disappointed?" I asked in pain. Tandi looked like she was about to cry.

"You're hurt because of me," she said before she started sobbing.

"But you were captured because of me. We're both responsible, so don't worry about it," I spoke passionately. Tandi's eyes stopped watering. Her mouth turned into a smile. I closed my eyes, though my left eye was partially closed this entire time.

I didn't get out of that bed for a week it turned out. Ian had apparently made a small fortune from selling most of the stuff he looted from the raiders. He paid a surprise visit one day. He had a half-smile on his face with his hand behind his back. "Hey bud, I got you something a vault dweller might like. High-tech stuff from before the War. I honestly don't know much about it, but you're the smart one. I got a nice deal on it 'cause the trader was stupider than a Brahmin," Ian said before showing me what he had. I sprung right up out of the bed. I couldn't believe something like this would still be around.

"A Wattz 1000 laser pistol!" I shouted as my hands shot out at it. I examined it in my hands. It's design was like any pistol, same size too. I checked it's power. Full energy cell in it, nice. This made my day. "Thank you, Ian. I think it's time now for us to head to Junktown."

Before I left Tandi's house, I went to say good-bye to her. She stood with her hands folded and arms down. I bowed to her and spoke gratefully, "It's been a pleasure staying here. Thank you very much, Tandi." She looked disappointed.

"Good luck finding a water chip, Albert. Stay safe out there!" Tandi said with enthusiasm. I took one last look at her pretty face before walking out the door. As I walked out the door, I realized that I hadn't left this house in a week. I immediately shielded my eyes. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the sunlight. Ian stared at me in surprise.

"Your eyes that bad, Al?" he asked.

"I lived 25 years of my life without ever seeing the sun. I think you understand that, Ian," I said back. Ian nodded his head, and led the way out of Shady Sands.

As we headed south to Junktown, Ian seemed to be a lot more trusting. I guess it's from helping him put an end to the raiders. I kept thinking about the Desert Ranger, Tycho. His words were still crawling around in my skull. They scared me, but at the same time made me wonder if I should be more careful. Come to think of it, I haven't killed anyone or anything out here in the wasteland yet. Yet? Now I'm thinking that I WILL be killing people out here. I changed my thoughts to something else. Now I was thinking about Ian's stealing from the dead. That still bothered me. Something came to my mind about it actually. I decided to ask Ian about it. In a non-accusing way, I asked, "Ian, you said you don't steal from the living, but you stole from your last caravan before they left you behind. Why was that?" Ian rubbed his neck uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I did…" he started, "It's just…that's life in the wasteland. I mean, I've never stolen from people's homes or anything. Just rival caravans and gang members and people like that. Believe me, it's not a bad thing." I figured that was enough of that topic. I didn't say anything else for the night.

It was in the afternoon of December 30th when we arrived at Junktown. I can see where the name comes from. A giant wall of junked cars surrounded the town, keeping it safe from invaders. I looked up at the brown sky. I noticed that a hazy smoke hovered over the town. There was a large blue cargo box with two sides absent that served as the entrance to the town. A single guard stood in front of it with his weapon holstered. He let us in without saying anything to him. I looked around after walking in, looking at the buildings around us. Most of the buildings were constructed out of sheet metal. I noticed one building that was an old garage had the sign 'Hospital' above it. Maybe I should see how my body is now from my fight with Garl. "Ian, I want to get checked out in the hospital. Wait for me outside." Ian propped himself on the outside wall of the hospital next to the door.

The first thing I saw as I entered the hospital were two armed guards at the door. Seemed like an odd thing for a hospital to have. There was only one other person in here. The man wore a white outfit, that was stained with blood. Either he was a doctor or a butcher. The bright lights emphasized his bald head. His eyes squinted at me, it gave me an uncomfortable feeling. "Lets go, what is it?" he asked me impatiently.

"I was beat pretty hard last week and wanted to see how I'm doing now," I answered. The doctor lifted his head up, as if I got his attention. His eyes opened up wide.

"Well, heh, let me see then. First, pay the 10 cap fee in advance," the doctor demanded, still impatient. Damn, I forgot that Ian had all the caps.

"Oh, let me go get the caps, excuse me for a moment," I said nicely. The doctor smiled, exposing the dirty color of his teeth. He was definitely creepy.

"Hey, why don't I just take you now then? Here, follow me to the cellar," the doctor said friendlier. He opened a heavy manhole on the floor. He pointed at the ladder down, for me to go first.

I didn't want to go now, this doctor scared me. I looked back at the door. One of the guards stood in the way of the door now. He wouldn't let me leave if I tried. The other guard pointed at the manhole. I guess I have no choice. I was hesitant and walked slowly over to the manhole. I didn't take my eyes off of the doctor. I stepped down the ladder still staring at him, but I should've looked at what I was walking into. The smell of fresh blood was overwhelming. The darkness made it impossible to know what was going on. Maybe this doctor is a butcher. I thought of Tycho's words again. I was ready for any surprise. The doctor slid down the ladder. One of the guards closed the manhole after the doctor came down.

A loud motor-powered noise started. I was more prepared than the doctor hoped. I had a flare in my hand. I wasn't going to be blind here, I lit the flare. The flare made the skeletons and human flesh that surrounded me glow. The doctor had a pre-War device in his hand that I recognized. It was a ripper, a motor-powered cutting tool that was similar to a chainsaw. It was smaller than a chainsaw, because it was held in one hand. The cutting blade on it was only a foot long. The teeth of the ripper were colored in fresh red. The teeth were racing up and down on it, eager to tear through something. The doctor was surprised, it stopped him where he was. He was about to cut me with the ripper, he was right in front of me. I took the moment he stopped and jumped on my only chance. I pulled my knife in it's holster, but it was caught. A second pull freed the knife.

The doctor advanced on me now. His ripper made short work of my knife, cutting through the steel like butter. I might have had time to take my laser pistol out, but I panicked. I threw what was left of my knife at the doctor's face. He stumbled backwards, and I launched my hand out at his hand. I was able to force the ripper out of his hand as I kicked him away. The doctor looked like a frightened animal now. He is an animal, killing these people like this. He had his hands up, like he was begging for mercy. This doctor's a murderer, he's deserves no mercy. I looked around the room, seeing all the dead bodies. I brought the ripper up at the doctor's neck, and it's teeth cut right through his neck out through the top of his head.

I stood still for a moment in shock. I had just killed someone. Horribly killed him too. I looked down in disgust at the doctor's face that was no longer on his body. The two pearl-white eyes rolled out of their sockets, with the emerald-green on each staring at me. I couldn't stand the sight, this whole room was filled with the remains of corpses everywhere. One thing caught my attention though, a box that had a kind of logo that said: 'Iguana Bob's.' I wanted to get the hell of there, but I was curious. I opened the box, which make me even more sick. Within the box was bits of human meat. This guy kills people, then disguises their meat as Iguana bits? This fact eased my mind for the moment, but I have to get out of here.

I wondered about the two guards that were up the ladder. I could take them by surprise, easily. Tycho spoke to me though, 'stop being so overconfident.' I changed my plan. I climbed up the ladder and opened the manhole slightly. I saw Ian arguing with the two guards. Ian drew his .223 pistol and shouted, "Tell me where he is or you'll be choking on your own blood!" His pistol was lined up with one of the guards' throat. I decided to spring on the other guard then. I pushed the manhole out of the way and pulled my laser pistol out faster than lightening. A simple squeeze of the trigger sent a red laser out at the guard. The laser struck the guard in the middle of his back. A hole the diameter of a baseball burned in his back. Seeing me do that, Ian made the guard he was aiming at 'choke on his own blood.' The deafening scream of the .223 pistol was actually pleasant to hear.

I thought about the spoils I just got, and could get, here in the hospital. I already had a ripper to replace my knife, and my eyes latched onto a strongbox in the back. The strongbox wasn't strong, just opened right up. Inside was a lovely bag of 3000 caps, as it was labeled. Ian noticed what I was up to. He spoke in a kind of wise-ass tone, "You realize what I said about stealing?" I ignored him. I don't know what just happened to me. I walked out the door of the hospital without talking back to Ian. I wanted to go shopping now.

"Where's a shop around here?" I asked Ian impulsively. Ian started walking further into town.

"Darkwaters General Store is right in the center of the town. It's run by the mayor of Junktown. Come on then," Ian said with his head over his shoulder.

As I followed Ian to the store, I noticed a suspicious-looking man with a rifle on his back. He kept looking around himself, like the bogeyman was after him. He seemed to be following us though. I saw the sign 'Darkwaters' and stopped Ian. "This guy's been following us, we should let him pass by," I whispered to Ian. Ian and I watched the man walk into the store. I guess he was just going to the same place as us. Ian gestured his hand towards the store. I went in first.

As soon as I entered the store, I saw in front of me the man that went in before us with his rifle in his hands. "Gizmo sends his regards!" he yelled. He aimed his rifle at the clerk. He must be an assassin! Before the assassin could pull the trigger, I tackled him to the ground hard. The clerk had a large handgun by then, pointed at us. I knew his intention, so I jumped right up on my feet. The clerk's handgun gave out a wail as it blew the assassin's brains out. Ian walked in the door then. He just stood still looking at the assassin's body. The clerk holstered his handgun and walked out to me. "Well, that's a damn fine thing you've just done for me stranger. Thanks for saving my life," he said with gratitude, "I'm Killian Darkwater, mayor of this fine town. What brings you here besides saving me?"

"I was coming here to shop, but what's that he said about Gizmo? Do you know what that means?" I asked Killian. He squinted and had an angry look on his face.

"He's the owner of the casino that's in town. He's a criminal, and wants me dead. This isn't the best evidence we have here, but maybe you can help me out, help remove the crime here in town. Interested?" Killian asked me.

I thought about it for a minute. Helping the mayor could have some good advantages. What the hell, I'll do it. "Sure, if it helps out the town," I replied anxiously. Killian nodded his head and rubbed his nose.

"Alright, I need you to get a confession out of Gizmo, you know something that can let me lock him out or maybe take him down. Something that proves he's a criminal. I have a tape recorder that's beat to hell, but still works. Just get proof, okay?" Killian asked nicely. He grabbed a tape recorder from behind the counter and handed it to me.

"Okay, where can I find Gizmo?" I questioned.

"Oh yeah, should of told you that. He's in his casino on the north side of town. You should go tonight, 'cause his door ain't always open. Got it?" Killian asked for confirmation. He looked at my jumpsuit then. "And tell you what; you help me out, I'll armor-up your vault suit for free." That sounds like a nice deal.

"You got it, Killian. I'll come back later tonight," I said strong. Ian was already walking out the door before I did.

Now we had to wait until nightfall before heading over to the casino. Ian and I walked around town to kill time. I stopped and bought a real iguana-on-a-stick to eat as we walked. I noticed how Junktown was filled with low-life scum everywhere, drug addicts roamed around freely. When passing one house, I was startled by a man screaming. A man ran over to me and pointed back where he came from. "Get this beast away from me!" he shouted in terror. From behind the corner of the house, walked out a four-legged animal. It walked slowly, certainly not a terrorizing animal as the man made it sound like. The animal looked up at me anxiously. I noticed what it was. It was a dog, an animal that was claimed to be man's best friend back before the war.

I approached the dog without fear. The dog sat down and his tail moved side to side. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, and his eyes were attached to my iguana-on-a-stick. I took another bite out of the iguana, and held it in front of the dog. The dog seemed surprised by my actions, and his mouth gladly accepted the rest of the iguana. The dog seemed happy. I rubbed my hands against his blue coat of fur. As I continued to do so, he edged closer to me. Without thinking I said, "Dogmeat," to the dog. His ears shot up and he barked. I guess I have a name for him now. I stood up straight and in a firm voice said, "Come, Dogmeat." Dogmeat barked and stood up. As I walked away with Ian, Dogmeat followed me. I now had another companion out here in the wasteland with me.


	5. Chapter 5: The Desert Ranger

Chapter 5: The Desert Ranger

I sat with Ian and Dogmeat for about an hour waiting to go to Gizmo's casino. There was a rather boring boxing match that was going on in a fenced-area. The one guy knocked the lights out of the other guy in under two minutes. It reminded me of my fight with Garl. I had my eyes in the direction of a place called 'Skum Pitt.' For a moment, I thought I saw Tycho, but I must have been imagining things as I was so bored. I thought about something Ian mentioned before, and figured I could ask him about it. I turned Ian and asked, "Where are you actually from? You said Shady Sands wasn't your home." Ian pushed his hair out of his face and rubbed his eyes for a moment.

"I'm from a no-name village to the north. It was small and we didn't see many outsiders, which is why the others there felt we didn't need a name. I wanted to name it, and my fiancé liked the name I wanted. I said we should call it 'Arroyo,' but everyone else said no. I don't really like the place now from being here," Ian said as he shifted his body, "And you know what, Al: once we get the water chip and you get to go home, I'm going to head back to no-name village to get my fiancé and settle down in Shady Sands with her."

It was nice to hear Ian talk about his plans, and not just because they include helping get the water chip. It's been over three weeks now that I've been out here in the wasteland, I miss the safety of the vault, I miss the safety of home. Now I'm starting to think that the rebels were crazy for wanting to come out here, for once I agree with the Overseer. I looked down at Dogmeat as I scratched behind his alert ears. I hope that 'man's best friend' thing is true about dogs. We sat staring at the sky, watching the sun set. The moment the sun set, I saw 'Casino' light up brighter than the sun. I turned to Ian, "Alright, I'm going in. Keep Dogmeat here until I'm back," I said getting up.

"Careful in there," Ian said as I walked into the casino.

The casino wasn't how I would have imagined it. It was filled with betting tables and slot machines, like any casino would. I just thought that it would be a better building, brighter lights and things like that. It did however look like the kind of place that would attract low-life scum and crime. Shady individuals in the corners, underdressed women arousing attention. I just wanted to get out of there, the place made me on edge. I felt like I should expect someone to start throwing punches and get everyone involved. I went straight to the back of the casino floor, to where one tough man stood in front of a door. Gizmo should be behind that door. The man wouldn't just let me in, I had to come up with something. I ran up to the man, pretending that I was out of breath. "I'm sorry I'm late, Gizmo's been waiting for me," I panted. The man stepped aside.

"Better hurry up then," the man said seriously. What a moron.

"Thank you, sir," I said as I went into Gizmo's office.

There was the absolutely, fattest man I've ever seen sitting behind a long desk. A body guard stood over his left shoulder. The fat man must have been Gizmo. He finished wiping off his grimy, old business suit before he took notice of me. "What'd you want? I'm a busy man!" he bellowed out impatiently. I stepped forward at him and took a seat in a chair in front of his desk. As I did so, I made sure to turn on the tape recorder Killian gave me.

"Well Gizmo, your assassin failed to kill Killian," I said outright. Gizmo instantly snapped under pressure. He shook his head wildly, with his chins swinging with it.

"I don't know what your talking about! Now get outta here!" he shouted quickly. I moved around in my chair and cleared my throat. The body guard already started to approach me.

"Wait! I'm here to fix that mistake! I'll kill him for you!" I said raising my hand out at the body guard. Gizmo put his hand up, and the body guard stopped. Gizmo's chubby face now started to smile.

"So, you say you can get Killian outta my way, huh?" Gizmo spoke slowly and quietly, "Well if you can do it, do it! There'll be 1000 caps coming your way if you do, alright? Now beat it! I've got work to do!" I nodded my head and left the room quickly.

I turned the tape recorder off as I exited the casino. Ian and Dogmeat waited for me in the same place as before. Ian stood up and anxiously asked, "So. What happened?" I held the tape recorder out in my hand.

"I took a job in there, 'Kill Killian.' This stood be enough proof for Killian," I said putting the tape recorder away, "Come on, lets give it to him." I led Ian and Dogmeat back to Killian's store. As we walked, I heard gunfire from behind us. There must have been a fight going on. I didn't concern myself with it, I just continued to Killian's store.

Killian's store was empty; no customers and no guards this time either. Killian was surprised to see me come in. He jumped out of his seat and rushed over to me. "So, do you have anything?" he asked me eagerly. I pulled out the tape recorder and handed it to him with a half-smile on my face. His hands snatched the tape recorder out of my hand faster than a speeding bullet. He played it immediately. He listened closely to it. As he listened, I had to say something.

"I'm not actually going to kill you, by the way," I spoke to clarify. Killian squinted his eyes at me.

"No, of course not. You going to go bring Gizmo down with me. Come on, we've got him!" Killian shouted with enthusiasm. He drew his large hand gun and marched out the door. I looked at Ian and he shrugged his shoulders. I guess we march to Gizmo's with Killian, out we went.

Killian seemed to run to the casino. It was obvious that he really wanted to kill Gizmo. I drew my laser pistol, ready for a fight. Ian had his .223 pistol out already, and Dogmeat just ran with us. Killian kicked the door into the casino down for no real reason. Before he even walked further into the casino, he already took a shot at the guard that stood in front of Gizmo's door. The guard's body smacked against the door from the force of the bullet going through his skull. The casino turned into an uproar of terror. People all came to the exit like a stampede. Luckily we were already inside at the time. We rushed with Killian to Gizmo's office.

Killian kicked down Gizmo's office door, again for no real reason. I was close behind him ready for an easy fight, or so my ego thought. The moment Killian walked into the office, he aimed straight for Gizmo. Gizmo had a pistol in his hand, but still had his fat ass in his chair at his desk. The body guard at his desk threw a knife with poor aim at Killian. Before Killian could get a shot off, he was punched by another body guard that was hidden next to he doorway. Killian was hit off balance, almost fell over too, as the guard punched him with brass knuckles. The body guard at the desk now aimed a pistol at me. Right as he shot, I grabbed the body guard at the door and shielded myself with him. It sounded like a firework went off next to my ear, but that was just Ian's good old .223 pistol doing it's job. Ian's shot pierced through the body guard's skull and went out the other end. I threw the dead body guard in my hands to the ground, and by that point Gizmo was aiming at Killian. I had to be quick, I just had to stop Gizmo from shooting, not go for a kill-shot. I fired my laser pistol twice, which was enough to stop Gizmo. My shots burned two holes, that together, severed Gizmo's right arm off.

Killian snickered and walked over to Gizmo slowly. He was being arrogant, with his gun at his side now. Gizmo looked up at Killian with his mouth open, breathing very fast. Killian stuck his gun's barrel into Gizmo's mouth. "Eat this you fat bastard," Killian said in a very serious tone. Killian pulled the trigger and painted Gizmo's tall chair red. Killian holstered his gun and slowly turned to me. "Well, we've done a great thing for this town. Crime should go down from here on out. Thank you for your help here, vault dweller. Lets go back to my store, and I'll armor your vault suit for you." I started out the door and noticed that there was not anybody around the casino now outside. Makes sense, who'd hang around a gun fight? We went straight to Killian's store.

At Killian's store, he had pieces of what looked like some kind of hard leather laid out with a few leather straps. It wasn't much, it definitely wasn't what I had in mind. There were three pieces in the shape of an oval with a worn-brown color. There was one that looked like a black isosceles triangle with its top point smoothed down. The last piece was a black rectangular bracer. Killian took two of the oval pieces and kneeled down in front of me. He was quick in what he did, and he attached the two pieces to my knees. Next, Killian took the last oval piece and brought it up to my right shoulder. He attached that piece at the direct top of where my arm meets my shoulder. Then, Killian grabbed the triangular-looking piece and rested it on my left shoulder, with the base of the triangle almost touching my neck. The piece of leather completely covered my left shoulder, and was attached with a strap that went down to my waist that was now attached to the belt for my backpack. Finally, Killian strapped the bracer onto my left forearm. He looked at my laser pistol that was oddly inside the holster for a 10mm pistol. He reached behind the counter and pulled out an leather-armored laser pistol holster. "Forgot you had one of those, here," Killian said. I removed my old holster for him, and held my laser pistol. Killian wrapped the holster around my right thigh, then I holstered my laser pistol with ease now. "Thanks for your help again, vault dweller. You're welcome in my town anytime." I didn't speak back. I half-bowed to him, and waved my hand as I left his store.

I thought of what we should do with the rest of the night. I had no ideas, so I turned to Ian as we walked around the town. "What should we do now?" I asked him, as he must know what there is to do. Ian moved the hair out of his face. His face warmed up with a smile he cracked.

"That," Ian said plainly, pointing at that building we saw earlier, 'The Skum Pitt.' The name was unappealing to me, I had no idea why Ian would want to go in there. I just looked at Ian then before he continued. "I'll show you that booze can be a rather good way to end the night. Come on, Al." Ian might be right, besides, I had nothing better to do. Ian lead the way in, and Dogmeat stayed right next to me on the way in.

The Skum Pitt was dark, only a few lights over the bar-area. There were candles stationed at the many tables that were around the entire room. Immediately as I made it to the center of the room, one man behind the bar's head shot up and shouted at me. "Get that damn beast outta my bar!" I looked down at Dogmeat, seeing his disappointed head down. Then, from the back left corner of the room came a familiar voice, that was clear for once.

"The dog stays, or you'll have to throw me out too. If you even could…" The man at the bar looked frightened and spoke after a moment.

"Please come in," he forced himself to say. Now, I had to see who it was that defended me in here. I went straight to the back left corner.

There was one man at the corner table, with all the tables around him vacant. On his table laid a helmet and a gas mask, and a large rifle was propped up against the wall behind the table. "Nice to see you again, vault dweller," he said to me as I sat down at his table.

"Told you you'd see me again, Tycho. What brings you to Junktown?" I asked with a smile. Tycho repositioned himself in his seat. He looked a lot less intimidating without his gas mask and helmet on, but still, I won't want to mess with him. He looked older than I imagined him as. He had to be at least 20 years older than me, with his hair completely gone and the few scars that were on his head.

"Heh," Tycho laughed, "Apparently to get proved wrong by you. I came here to remove the crime lord in town, but I hear you already took care of that. I was wrong about you, you are indeed a great individual with a will to survive, much like a Desert Ranger. I haven't met anyone like you in my travels, and I've been from the Gulf of Mexico to here." What an honor, to be unique to this man.

I looked over at Ian next to me. He already ordered some drinks for us, and he held his glass lightly. His glass was filled half-way with a dark red liquid. He lifted the glass up to his mouth, and tilted his head straight back. He drank all the liquid in one shot, and gave out a loud exhale of breath afterwards. "Ahh, that's good. You try it, Al," Ian said in a kind of encouraging way. My hand took hold of the glass in front of me, and lifted it up to my mouth. The drink smelled so strong, but so nice too. I did exactly as Ian did, and drank it in one shot. It made me cough a few times, but it still felt good. Ian was right, this stuff is alright. "Told you, bud," Ian said as if he were satisfied.

My attention went back to Tycho. He began speaking in an insightful way, "You shouldn't drink too much of that at once. Having more than one or two will dehydrate you, be careful of that. And water is scarce is many places out in the wasteland. Some of it is bad too, you have to look carefully at it." He really must think about survival a lot more than I thought of it.

"Look at what in water?" I asked him.

"Such as if the water is completely free of insects or moss; water like that is not natural in the wasteland and will be irradiated or poisonous. There's a lot to know about survival," Tycho said in a serious tone. I lifted my head up high and half smiled.

"Why don't you come along with me and teach me? I've already taken care of crime in this town, why not help me in my quest?" I asked Tycho with confidence. Tycho finished his drink before saying anything.

"Alright Albert, so long as you keep up this noble path you're on. I'll journey with you to get your quest done, but we must stop and correct bad activity that could be going on in the world along the way, okay?" Tycho said to be clear.

"I do that on instinct, it's what's right," I spoke proudly. Tycho nodded his head.

"Good, I guess there's more I need to teach you then about survival," Tycho said happily. Things just get better and better now. I will have no problems getting myself a water chip now, with Tycho agreeing to teach me now.


End file.
